Laundry press



Nov. 28, 193 3. A. L. BAUSMAN LAUNDRY PRE S S Filed NOV. 13, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet. 1

INVENTOR.

ALbA/za lmro/v B4 USMAN f ATTORN' YS.

Nov. 28, 1933. V A. L. BAUSMAN LAUNDRY PRE S 5 Filed Nov. 15, 1931 s.SheetsSheet 3 f v r v N V EN TOR. AL M20 [/A/ ran/B4 VSMA/V y $701555.

5 I a w 7 Patented Nov. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES- LAUNDRY PRESS I AlonzoLinton Bausman. Springfield;

Application November 13, 1931 Serial No. 574,188

5C|aims. (01. 60-52) This invention relates 'to laundry presses of thetype having a fixed lower buck and an upper head movable toward the buckby power-operated mechanism. One object-of the invention is 5 to improvethe power mechanism for operating a press of this character. A furtherobject is to provide a press of this character with simple control meansnecessitating the use of both hands of the operator to close the press.A. further 10 object of the invention is to utilize the power operatingmechanism to check the opening move- -ment of the head. A further objectof the invention is to provide a counter-balancing spring so designed asto exert a breaking action on the appear from the following descriptionand claims.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in sectionof a press embodying the invention; 2 Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammaticviews illustrating the method of operation of the press;

Fig. 4 is a partial front elevation looking from the right in Fig. 1;Fig. 5 is a section through the press-operating 25 cylinder andassociated parts, taken on line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. '7 is a section on line7-7 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig.1; Fig.9 is asection on line 99 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 10 is a section on line 10l0 ofFig. 9. The press is mounted on a frame 10 which, in the case shown, isformed of structural iron rather than from'a casting to produce strengthwith the 35 least weight and expense. The frame supports a stationarybuck 11 which may be of any usual form and is, therefore, not describedin detail. One or more arms 12 are pivoted at 13 to the frame and carryan upper head 14 in any conven- 40 tionalmanner. To the arms 12 spacedlinks 15' are pivoted as at 16; The lower end of each of 50 a link 20passes between each pair of links 18 and is secured to them by a pivot21. At. its opposite end a pivot 22 joins each link 20 between a pair oflinks 23 pivoted at 24 to the frame. A cylinder casting 25 issupported-in the frame as by chan- 55 psi irons 26 and is formed with atop 27. A

This construction per-' piston 28 runs in a cylindrical bore 29-formedwith a casting 25, and carries a rod 30 extending upwardly throughthetop 27 and secured to 'a cross head 31. This crosshead runs uponguide rods 32 fastened to the .top 2'? and extending loosely through thecrosshead. :Springs 33 encircle the guide rods above thecrosshead andare held in position by nuts 34. These springs serve both as shockabsorbers slowing'down the action of the piston as it nears the end ofits press closing stroke and as a means to exert a breaking action onthe toggle 20, 23 when the piston starts its descent. At each-end of thecrosshead is a pin 35, swinging on which is a link 36 pivoted at 37between one pair of links 23, thus in eii'ect connecting the piston rodtothe toggle"2 0, 23.

In order to open the press, counterbalancing springs 38 are employed,serving to overcome the weight of the head 14 and to run a part'of thehydraulic driving mechanism to be described later. The springs arealsoarranged tobreak the toggle 15, 18 at the start'of the press openingmovement, as no mechanism has been provided for reversing-the operationof the hydraulic driving device. For this purpose the springs arestretched between arms 39 freely mounted on the pivots l6 and 19 andcarrying lugs 40 bearing against the outer 'sides/ of the links 15 and18. It will be seen that in addition to the usual function'of pullingdownwardly upon the rear ends of the arms 12 the springs exert a turningforce on the toggle links tending to break the toggle and thus permitthe press to open.

The piston 28 is, in accordance with the preferred form of theinvention, driven hydraulically. For this purpose a motor 45, whichrunsconstantly during the operation of the press, is directly connectedto a pump 46 of the centrifugal type. The detail construction of thispump is not of importance and has, therefore; not been illustrated. Thecentrifugal type is chosen because it permits of the continued rotationof the driving motor even though the out let of the pump is shut ofi.Any 'pump having this characteristic can be used. The inlet of thepump-is indicated in the drawings at 4'! and the outlet at 48. Theoutlet 48 from the pump runs into a distributing chamber 49 formedwithin the cylinder casting 25 and separated from the cylinder 29 by apassage 50, shown in Fig. l and diagrammatically in Fig 2. Thisdistributing chamber is located near the bottom of the cylinder castingand has above it a reservoir 51. This reservoir is separated from thedistributing chamber by a partition 52 and has an open con- 1 neetion 53with the top'of the cylinder 29. Between the distributing chamber andthe reservoir are two valves 54, 55 acting in parallel, as shown in Fig.2. The valves arecomposed respectively of disks 56, 57, each disk havingspaced holes which in one position of rotationof the disk are adapted toregisterwith holes 59 in the partition 52. The valves are rotated byrods 60 and 61 respectively, each rod having secured to its upper end anarm 62 joined by a link 63 with one arm of a bell crank 64 mounted onthe frame. Links 65 connect the two bell cranks to spaced handles 66 and67 mounted on the front of the frame,

so that each valve is controlled by a separate handle. A spring 68 tendsto draw the rear end of each handle downwardly as viewed in Fig. 1, andsprings 69 tend to keep the valves 54, 55 against their seats. Alsomounted upon the rods 60, 61 are valves 70 and 71, the first cooperatingwith the pump inlet 47, and the second with the pump outlet 48. Both ofthe valves 70, -71 are loose .fitting for a purpose to be described.

The operation of the hydraulic actuating means will now be described. Itwill be assumed that the cylinder 29, the distributing chamber 49, andthe reservoir 51 are filled with oil or other liquid suitable for thepurpose. The pump 46, as previously stated, is rotating constantly.While the press is open, the two valves 54 and 55 are open between thedistributing chamber and the reservoir, so that, as best shown in Fig. 3(which shows the piston starting down), a complete by-pass isestablished around the cylinder 29. No action upon the piston 28 will,therefore,

occur. The loosely fitting valves 70, 71 are closed during this time sothat a partial load is placed upon the centrifugal pump. This servesboth to cut down the speed with which the circulation of oil takesplace, preventing the momentum of oil from exerting an undesired actionupon the piston, and to prevent the pump from being suddenly leftunloaded.

If it is desired to close the head of the press upon the buck, both ofthe handles 66 are lowered, thereby shutting the valves 54, 55, as inFig. 2, and opening the valves 70, 71. This prevents flow of oil fromthe distributing chamber to the reservoir and forces it underneath thepiston 28. As the piston rises, the head is lowered upon the buck by thetoggle connections de-- scribed above. As the head comes into placeagainst the buck, the piston necessarily stops. This, however, does notaifect the action of the pump which keeps in operation and maintains asteady pressure of the head against the buck.

It will be observed that it is necessary to operate both handles 66since if only one of them is moved a by-pass is still establishedbetween the distributing chamber and the reservoir. This requires theoperator to have both hands out of the way of the press head at the timewhen the latter is closed.

In order to relieve the operator of the neces- 7 sity of keeping hishands upon the handle 66, 67

during the period when the press isto remain closed, a bracket 75 isfixed to the crosshead 31 and carries a bow spring 76, each end of whichpresses against the rear end of one of the handles 66, 6'7, as shown inFigs. 1 and 6. It is necessary for the operator to keep the handlesdepressed until the press is fully closed, but as soon as this occursthe press will remain closed without further attention on his part, aslong as may be desired. When the press is to be opened, one of thehandles 66 or 67 (it being immaterial which one) is elevated. This opensone of the valves 54 or 55 and closes the corresponding valve 70 or 71.This opens a connection between the distributing chamber 45 and thereservoir 51, giving a chance for the liquid underneath the piston 28 toflow directly into the reservoir in which the liquid is under nosubstantial pressure. It also chokes oi'f either the inlet or outletofthe centrifugal pump, thus preventing the sudden circulation of theliquid at a high speed when the connection to the reservoir is open. Assoon as the piston descends, the spring 76 is moved away from the valvehandles 66 and 67 sothat the press will remain open without furtherattention.

The counter-balance spring 38 which opens the press imparts considerablemomentum to the mechanism during the opening operation, and it isdesirable to slow the parts down before they reach their final positionof rest. In the present case, this is accomplished by a short reversalof the valve mechanism at a time just prior to the full opening of thepress. To do this, the crosshead 31 is provided with spaced abutments77, each adapted to contact with an arm 78 pivoted at 79 to a bracketformed upon the cylinder top 27. Also pivoted at 79 are bell cranks 80,one arm of each of which carries a set screw 81, making'contact with oneof the arms 78, and the other arm of which is connected by a link 82 tothe same arm of the bell crank 64 to which the link 63 is fastened. Asthe crosshead descends, the abutment 77 strikes the arm 78, rocking thebell cranks and 64 and turning the valves as if the handles 66, 67 hadbeen depressed to cause closure of the press mechanism. In the presentcase, however, this action is only transitory, the abutment quicklypassing by the ends of the arms 78 and allowing these to return to theirinitial position. The action lasts fora long enough time to build up aslight pressure under the piston 28 and to slow it down in its travel.As soon as the abutments pass the arms, the pressure under the piston isreleased and it is permitted to sink into its final position.

As stated above, the buck and headmay be of any type desired. In thecase shown, the heater 85 has been indicated underneath the buck 11.This heater may be of any of the usual types adapted to heat air bycirculation of steam through a coil. The buck is made hollow'so that airmay rise through the heater either by gravity or by a fanwhich may, ifdesired, be inserted in g l d together n. V

1. A laundry press comprising opposed press members, power transmittingmechanism connected to one of the press members for transmitting a pressclosing force to it, cylinder and piston mechanism connected to saidtransmitting mechanism, a reservoir, a distributing chamber I connectedto the cylinder, a constantly driven centrifugal pump having its inletconnected to the reservoir and its outlet connected to the distributingchamber, valve means for cor nectiii nos-1,052

ing the distributing chamber to the reservoir, and means for choking the'i'ree ilow of fluid through the pump when the valve means between thedistributing chamber and the reservoir is open.

2. A laundry press comprising opposed press members, power transmittingmechanism connected to one of the press members tor-transmitting a presston mechanism connected to said transmitting mechanism, a reservoir, adistributing chamber connected to the cylinder, a constantly drivencentrifugal pump having its inlet connected to the reservoir and itsoutlet connected to the distributing chamber, a pair of valves forconnectifig the distributing chamber to the reservoir, separate spacedmanual controls for said valves, and a second pair of valves connectedtothe first pair ior'actuation therewith for choking the flow or fluidthrough the pump inlet and outlet when the first named valves are open.

3. A laundry press comprising opposed press membersfpower transmittingmechanism connected to one of the press members'tor transmitting a pressclosing force to it, constantly running press closing power meansconnected to said power transmitting mechanism, means for rendering saidconstantly running power means in-' eifeotive in its operation in orderto open the press, and-mechanism automatically actuable during theopening or the pressior causing a transitoryeflectiveness of operationof the power means to check the opening of the press.

. 4. A laundry press comprising opposed press closing force to it,cylinder and pis- 3 em rs. power transmitting in connected One of thePress mbers for transmitting a press closing torce'to it, cylinder andpiston mechanism connected to saidtransmitting mechanism, a'reservoir, adistributing chamber connected to the cylinder, s constantly drivencentriiugal pump having its inlet connected reservoir and its outletconnected to thedistributing chamber, valve means for connecting thedistributing chamber to the reservoir, manual control means for closingthe valve means to causeto the closing of the press, means for openingthe press,

and mechanism automatically operable during the opefiring of closing orthe valve means to check-- the opening oi! the press,

5. A laundry presscomprising opposed press members, power transmittingmechanism connected to one ofthe press membersifor transmitting a pressclosing force to it, cylinder and piston mechanism connected to thepower transmitting the press to-ca'use a transitory mechanism, a fluidpump adapted to mm a sub- 7 stantially incompressible fluid into thecylinder to cause press closing movement of said mechanism and by itscontinued operation to exert a continuing pressure between the pressmembers, and a regulable by-pass adapted to shunt fluid by the pistonwhen the latter is in press closing position only whereby adjustment maybe made of the pressure with which the press members are forcedtogether.

' ALONZO Bahamas.

